“It’s everybody, I mean. Everything everybody does is so–I don’t know–not wrong, or even mean, or even stupid, necessarily. But just so tiny and meaningless–and sad-making. And the worst part is, if you go bohemian or something crazy like that, you’re conforming just as much as everybody else, only in a different way.”﻿- J.D. Salinger

I was this broody 17-year-old. I felt that no one could understand me. However, when my friend A. gave me this book as a birthday present I practically embraced it. Along with 1984 and Brave New World – these novels represented the epitome of all the oppression and phoniness I felt EVERYONE was about.

Ah, youth and its tendencies to melodramatize everything.

But you know what? Thank God for such angsty literature, of which our phantom menace sides can find an outlet in. And they are good reminders to constantly question the status quo and the facades that we get all too familiar with.

J.D. Salinger – RIP. Thank you for your words which provided me so much solace in my adolescence. I hope you left the world feeling less crap about it.

Pop culture/Hollywood trivia: Zooey Deschanel was named after this novel by her parents, even though Zooey was the guy in the story. But no surprises there, Zooey is such a cute name. And what cool parents!

This Norwegian dude is like a more intellectual version of Jason Mraz and his songs are the perfect accompaniment to a rainy day. I may not understand what all his existential lyrics are about, but there are always random lines that resonate strongly. Right now, this is my favourite Sondre Lerche song from his latest album Heartbeat Radio, which is about a boy who is cranky about the moon:

What I’ve also discovered, thanks to Youtube, is that he also has a knack for crooning jazz and I bought his Duper Sessions as a little Christmas present for myself. Here’s him singing “The More I See You”:

I’m not Cantonese but I love my soups. Especially shark’s fin soup, which no environmentally-friendly plea can keep me away from. Today, I hereby verify that the most fantastic shark’s fin you can get in Singapore is at Taste Paradise at Ion Orchard.

Image courtesy of Taste Paradise

This double-boiled concoction is served in this earthy Japanese stone pot which keeps the brew warm even after 20 minutes (which is probably the time you will take to finish it – the portion is huge!). The texture is thick, but not with starch. Because it is brewed for 12 hours, the fish maw in the soup gradually melts to give it this fantastic rich flavour and consistency (it’s apparently good for your joints too). To top it off, there is this awesome crispy onion roll which you can dip into the soup.

For those who really dig Mother Earth and all that, there is also the green version of this soup – they use mock shark’s fin and tastes 99.9% like the real McCoy. I can confirm this since I’ve had the green and the non-green one on separate occasions and both left me in a state of euphoria.

I love how how this self-proclaimed human guinea pig who is Jewish “as the same way the Olive Garden is an Italian restaurant” comes to terms with growing Moses-like facial hair (see pic above), chucking out mixed-fiber clothing, stoning someone in Central Park, purchasing a shepherd’s staff online and of course following the Ten Commandments. All this is done with the help of devout/”expert” Christians and Jews of varying denominations, of which he makes it a point to interact with and do some immersion journalism, including partaking of a drunken Hasidic dance and attending an Evangelical serpent-handling sermon.

His hilarious accounts are also peppered with some interesting reflections too:

“The year showed me beyond a doubt that everyone practices cafeteria religion. It’s not just moderates. Fundamentalists do it too. They can’t heap everything on their plate. Otherwise they’d kick women out of church for saying hello (“the women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak …”—1 Corinthians 14:34) and boot out men for talking about the “Tennessee Titans” (“make no mention of the names of other gods…”—Exodus 23:13).

But the more important lesson was this: there’s nothing wrong with choosing. Cafeterias aren’t bad per se. I’ve had some great meals at cafeterias. I’ve also had some turkey tetrazzini that gave me the dry heaves for sixteen hours. The key is in choosing the right dishes. You need to pick the nurturing ones (compassion), the healthy ones (love thy neighbor), not the bitter ones. Religious leaders don’t know everything about every food, but maybe the good ones can guide you to what is fresh. They can be like a helpful lunch lady who—OK, I’ve taken the metaphor too far.”

I’m always a little unsure of what to pick out from the library or bookshop because I have a very in-between taste in books. Don’t like Da Vinci Code but cannot get through James Joyce. Don’t like to stick to any one writer or genre but then again, not quite bookish enough to keep abreast of the literary scene. But I’m really devoid of stuff to read at night at the moment and re-reads just don’t quite cut it.

Had a chat with Kenny and Karen, owners of Books Actually and Polymath & Crust (ostensibly for a possible article but mostly because I love hanging out in their bookshops) last week and they suggested 10 must-reads which I thought I’d share because it seems like a pretty interesting selection. I’ve only read five four from their list (and thoroughly approve of the “must-read” status) which makes me a little excited that there are at least five six more fascinating reads to explore soon!

I actually hauled back quite a number of books from New York recently, my husband’s shopping habits must be rubbing off me. One of the books that I picked up, and would not usually buy if I was feeling more rational, was This Is For You by Rob Ryan, an intricate, poignant collage of touchy-feely thoughts cut out on paper.

Strange feelings of warm comfort came over me as I flipped through this book . I think this is what real art is supposed to do, no?